Dirty Pretty Things
by madladypoet
Summary: Set during season eight. Scully/Doggett/Reyes. The three investigate the murder of a friend of Scully's.
1. Chapter 1

_Scully's Apartment _

_Washington, DC_

_9 pm_

Dana Scully opened the door to her apartment building and walked inside. As usual, Scully checked her mail and then walked to elevator. Standing there was Mr. Miike, Scully's neighbor. Seeing him, Scully managed a wan smile. She rarely smiled these days, and although she had always been a withdrawn personality, she was especially quiet now. Scully put it off to her fear about pregnancy, but she knew that it was really something else: Mulder.

Walking toward Mr. Miike, Scully managed for a moment that it was Mulder standing there waiting for her. From the moment, she walked into Mulder's basement office seven years ago, Scully could have hardly imagined how much her life would change. Nor, she thought, as she reached Mr. Miike's side, did she expect to fall in love. After years of working with Mulder, she was surprised to look up one day and see something new about him. Her mother always taught her kids that they would find love in unexpected places and as always, Mom was right.

"Good evening, Dana." said Mr. Miike bowing from the waist.

Scully's smile widens. She always appreciated a man with manners.

"Good evening, Mr. Miike." replied Scully. "How's you grandbaby?"

"She's fine." said Mr. Miike smiling. "She's as beautiful as her mother."

Hearing Mr. Miike speak so highly of his daughter reminded Scully of the ache in her heart for her father. Papa Scully had been dead for six years now and Scully, upon finding out she was pregnant, longed to have her father's steady hand.

The elevator buzzer brought Scully back to the present and Mr. Miike held the door open for her. Scully walked in and Mr. Miike followed. Scully faced forward, but felt Mr. Miike was looking at her critically, but sympathetically.

"How are you feeling, Dana?" asked Mr. Miike. "You look exhausted."

Scully managed a wan smile. "I'm just tired from overwork."

Mr. Miike looked at her sympathetically. "Are you sure it's not your pregnancy?"

Scully looked shocked. She had told no one about her pregnancy and at only three months, she was barely showing. Yet Mr. Miike knew. Scully was so shocked that she could barely register that she and Mr. Miike had reached their floor. Putting his hand on her back, Mr. Miike escorted Scully out of the elevator. Her mind whirling Scully turned to Mr. Miike and asked, "How did you know?"

Laughing Mr. Miike shook his head. "Dana, I've lived through two pregnancies, so I know a pregnant woman when I see one."

Feeling overwhelmed, Scully felt tears begin to form. Ducking her head, she just wanted to go inside and go to bed. Scully fumbled with her keys when Mr. Miike reached around and took them from her. Scully turned to look at him, and this time, Scully let the tears fall freely. Pulling her into his arms, Mr. Miike let Scully cry as much as she needed.

"What are you afraid of Dana?" asked Mr. Miike.

Scully was startled by the question. She was raised not to be afraid of anyone or anything. As an FBI agent, fear was a luxury she could not afford. Yet Mr. Miike was right. She was afraid. Afraid of not being able to do her job. Afraid of losing the X-files. Afraid of never seeing Mulder again. The list went on and on. Scully buried her fear deep; it was the only way to get through her day-to-day life. Looking at Mr. Miike, Dana had to admit that she could not lie to him, so she admitted her biggest fear of all.

"What if I am not good mother?" said Scully quietly. Mr. Miike looked perplexed.

"How could you not be a good mother?" asked Mr. Miike.

Scully could not answer that. She could not tell Mr. Miike about Emily. Scully never forgave herself for not being able to save her daughter's life. While her desire to be a parent was overwhelming, her fear of letting down another childe left her anxiety-ridden about motherhood. With her head on Mr. Miike's chest, Scully heard a distinct rumble. Lifting her head, Scully saw that Mr. Miike was chuckling. For a moment, Scully felt irritated. Why was he laughing? Pulling out his handkerchief, Mr. Miike gently wiped the tears from Dana's face.

"Dana, Dana." he chided. "How can you doubt yourself?" "You are not even a mother yet?"

Looking down at the floor, Scully mumbled. "I just know."

Lifting her chin, Mr. Miike looked Scully in the eye. "Dana." said Mr. Miike in mock seriousness. "Think of the next couple of months as an audition."

"An audition?" quizzed Scully.

"An audition for your new life as a mother." responded Mr. Miike.

"An audition." Said Scully her voice filled with wonder.

Inserting her keys into the lock, Mr. Miike opened the door to Scully's apartment. Handing her keys back to her, Mr. Miike squeezed Scully's shoulders and walked over to his door across the hall.

"Dana" he said softly, causing her to turn. "Remember that life is a series of auditions."

Gently, Mr. Miike shut the door behind him. Dana walked into her own apartment and shut the door. Going over to her desk, Scully grabbed a piece of paper, wrote, "Life is a series of auditions" and pinned the paper to her corkboard next to her computer. She was going to need that reminder in the months to come.


	2. Chapter 2

_FBI Building_

_Washington DC_

_9:00 p.m._

John Doggett did not like porn. Unlike other men, who found porn to be arousing, Doggett found it rather disgusting. Maybe it was his Baptist upbringing or maybe because he prefer live naked women to some blown-up giggle doll on the screen. Doggett was unsure. But he was sure of one thing: Fox Mulder was one weird bird. Going through Mulder's desk for a pen, Doggett stumbled across Mulder's porn collection. Doggett had to wonder when you had someone as beautiful as Dana Scully why would you need a porn collection?

Shutting the porn drawer, Doggett looked down at his paperwork and sighed. He had to admit it; he was tired: not physically, not mentally but emotionally. Working on the X-files had reopened old wounds that Doggett had long thought healed, especially the mystery surrounding the death of his son. Deciding he could not work any more today, Doggett stood up and grabbed his coat to head home. Tomorrow was Saturday, usually the day that John worked on his house, watched NASCAR or football and occasionally had a beer with the guys. John knew that he was leading an isolated life, but at least, he could not let anyone down. Walking out the door, Doggett's cell phone rang.

"Hello, John?" asked a female voice.

At the sound of her voice, John's heart stuttered. It was Reyes calling him from New Orleans. Agent Monica Reyes was one of the FBI's foremost experts on religious symbolism and demonic possession. She was a new agent when the FBI brought her in to help with the disappearance of Doggett's son. During the time, the police and FBI were looking for his son, Reyes and Doggett had become close and as much as he hated to admit it, Doggett found himself attracted to her. Yet after finding his son dead, Doggett withdrew from everything and his marriage already on shaky ground fell apart. He did not see Reyes for another two years when he joined the FBI. Although they had never served in the same office, they always kept in touch. Doggett knew that subsconsciously he wanted to have a relationship with Monica, but fear kept him from doing so. He hated himself for that. He knew one day that he would call Monica and find her with another guy or even worse married.

Fear, thought John Doggett, was a bitch.

"John?" asked Reyes. "Are you there?

Coming back to the present, Doggett answered, "Yeah, Mon, I am here." "How are you?"

"Good." She paused. "I'm heading to DC for a case and was wondering if I could see you."

John's heart stuttered again. He tried not to sound overly enthusiastic about her coming to visit.

"Yeah, Mon." said John calmly. "Just call me when you get in."

"Great." said Monica enthusiastically. "We'll go out for a beer or something."

"Okay." replied Doggett. "I'll see you soon."

Then he hung up, walking to his car, Doggett felt more elated than he had in a long time. Maybe he would ask Monica out this time. Getting into his car, John decided to get his house ready to impress her.


	3. Chapter 3

_Bourbon Street_

_New Orleans_

_8:00 p.m._

Monica Reyes hung up the phone and focused her binoculars on the voodoo shop across the street. Several mutilated corpses had been found around the city and the last time each person had been seen was in the voodoo store. The New Orleans Police Department, determining the deaths were the result of a satanic cult, called the FBI. Reyes examined the case and found nothing satanic about it, but the FBI set up a surveillance operation anyway. Reyes was not a wasteful person so he hated it that the FBI was wasting money on having her there. Sighing, she put her phone back on her belt clip and picked up a file. It took some begging, but Monica managed to get her director to let her pursue the case to Washington, D.C.

Opening the file, Monica found a glut of photographs, each more gruesome than the last. What was interesting about those photographs, thought Monica, is that the photos were not of bodies but body parts: a tongue here, a finger there. While the amount of blood found at each crime scene was substantial enough to note that a crime had been committed, but without a body, there was little to go on. Flipping past the photographs, Reyes read the case file. This case had been going on for five years with three crime scenes discovered, each more gruesome than the last.

The first crime scene was discovered in New Orleans. The potential victim was a Japanese immigrant named Toyoyuki Yokohama, who ran a local dance school. His body was never found except for his tongue and two of his fingers. An investigation into Mr. Yokohama's background revealed that he had inappropriate relations with his young students. The investigation into his disappearance was quickly regulated to the who-cares bin.

The second crime scene was discovered in Atlanta. The victim was also a Japanese immigrant named Hideo Yamamoto, and he was lawyer. His body was never found except for his eyeballs. An investigation into his background revealed that he embezzled money from his law firm. Like the previous investigation, this one was quickly closed.

The third crime scene was found in Washington, DC. The victim was a Japanese immigrant named Yasushi Shimamura. His body has yet to be found but his nose and two of his fingers were. An investigation into his background revealed nothing criminal, but Reyes was certain that the FBI had not dug deep enough.

Reyes closed her eyes and shut the file. There were only common factors among the victims: all three were Japanese; all three lost body parts and lots of blood, and all three were found to be guilty of a crime. Reyes investigated the case thoroughly and found no supernatural elements in it. Yet something about the case bothered Reyes, and with some ingenuity received permission to go to Washington, DC. Hearing a noise, Reyes put her hand on her gun and turned. It was Jennings; her replacement on surveillance duty. Reyes filled him in, walked out onto Bourbon Street and lit a cigarette. Lost in thought, she walked down toward Decauter Street where she had parked her car.

Ignoring the drunken frat boys and strippers, Reyes inhaled deeply on her cigarette and thought about the case. She had a feeling that she had to find the killer. Reyes had no idea why since the case did not fall into her jurisdiction; nevertheless, Reyes feared that if she did not find this killer other people would die. Reaching her car, Reyes got in and started for home. Her flight to DC was in less than six hours and she still needed to pack.

Turning onto Canal Street, Reyes' thought turned to John. She was excited to see him again. She had to admit that she always wondered what a relationship with him would be like. Yet she knew that John always associated her with the loss of his son. Reyes had always hoped that John would let go of his pain and get past it, but after all this time, she held out little hope. Maybe, thought Reyes, looking at her ring finger she should tell Brad yes. While Monica knew that she did not really love Brad, she always feared that she would end up alone. Upon reaching her apartment, Reyes killed the motor and stared up at the windows. The light was on, meaning Brad was upstairs, waiting for her. Sighing, Monica opened the door, went in to face Brad.


	4. Chapter 4

_Mr. Miike's Apartment_

_Washington, D.C._

_9:00 p.m._

Mr. Miike entered his apartment and stood for a moment. He was elated by the birth of his grandchild, but was concerned for his young neighbor next door. Mr. Miike sensed that Dana Scully was suffering through some great turmoil, however, she was too closed off to tell him what it was. Still, he wanted to offer this young lady as much help as he could. Crossing over to his desk, Mr. Miike wrote a note to remind himself to check on Dana tomorrow. As he grabbed a piece of paper, Mr. Miike accidentally knocked over an old cup of coffee. Cursing under his breath, Mr. Miike went to the kitchen and grabbed a roll of paper towel. Coming back into the living room, Mr. Miike began to clean up the mess. As he sorted through his papers, he came across a photo that gave him pause. Sitting in his desk chair, Mr. Miike stared at the tattered photograph and with his right forefinger, he gently traced the face on the photograph. Then he turned the photo over and tore it in two. He gently tossed the pieces into the trash can. As he did so, he heard a noise from his bedroom. Getting up, he walked toward the bedroom and opened the door. Turning on the light, Mr. Miike found nothing amiss. He walked over and threw open the closet door followed by the bathroom door. Still nothing. Walking back into the living room, Mr. Miike shook his head and decided that he had become paranoid in his old age.

Since breaking up with his last girlfriend, Mr. Miike had been unsettled by her rage and her insistence to follow him everywhere. Sighing, he sat back down in his desk chair and finished his note about Dana Scully. He missed the old days when young women would take break-ups with tact and grace. Dana Scully, he thought as he posted the note to his computer screen, was one of those women. Mr. Miike wondered if he should ask Dana to speak to his ex, but then decided that Dana already had enough to deal with. Deciding that he really needed a drink, Mr. Miike went over to his bar and poured himself a hefty scotch. Sitting on the couch, he proceeded to down the drink allowing himself to enjoy the burning in his throat. Laying his head against the couch pillows, Mr. Miike found himself becoming drowsy. He was surprised since scotch rarely made him feel this way. Hearing a noise behind him, Mr. Miike tried to turn, but he could not get his head to respond. It was then that Mr. Miike realized that something was wrong. From his peripheral vision, Mr. Miike could see white cotton fluttered to within his eye range. Startled by his realization of the woman standing before him, Mr. Miike tried to scream, but he was unable to make a sound. As he began to lose consciousness, Mr. Miike saw a hypodermic needle headed for his face.


	5. Chapter 5

_Doggett and Reyes_

_Dulles Airport_

_9 a.m._

John Doggett's newfound happiness at seeing his old friend quickly turned to depression at the sight of a two carat ring on Monica Reyes' ring finger. While he managed to maintain inane chatter about travel, the weather and his new job on the X-Files, Doggett found himself going back to that ring and the bright happiness on Monica's face. While he never saw himself getting married again, he did see himself happily living with Monica. The ring on her finger told him that she had stopped waiting for him to get his head together and had, in fact, moved on from him. John managed to keep the conversation going, and smile at the appropriate times, but inside he felt himself dying.

"Penny for your thoughts?" asked Reyes.

John managed to look nonplussed. "What do you mean?"

"You're talking John, but then you are not saying anything at all" said Reyes.

For the first time since she arrived, John genuinely smiled. Monica knew him better than anyone, even his ex-wife. It would kill him to see her marry someone else. Still, he knew that he needed to be a good friend to Monica as she had always been to him. She deserved at least that much of his support.

"I just wasn't expecting that" he said with a nod to her wedding ring, "I'm happy for you though Mon."

Monica looked at Doggett carefully. John never hid his emotions well, despite years of training in the Marines, NYPD and FBI. She could see that he was conflicted, which gave her some hope. Maybe her engagement to Brad would finally force John to confront his feelings for her. Sometimes, thought Reyes, she wondered if she was fooling herself about John's feelings for her. Maybe, she thought, his feelings truly didn't extend beyond friendship. Her time in DC, Monica figured, would make or break their relationship.

Looking over at John, Monica nodded in return and fingered her engagement ring. "I wasn't expecting it either, but we've been dating for a while, and well, I'm getting up there in years."

John look perturbed. "What do you mean 'up there in years'?" "You are only 36!"

"Yeah," said Monica with a sigh, "four years away from 40." She looked over at John. "If I am going to have kids, it has to be soon."

John felt a lump build in his throat. After losing his son, he had never wanted other kids despite Barbara's desire for them. That was the final breaking point in his marriage. Hearing that Monica wanted kids made Doggett's heart ache again as he realized that he could never give her the one thing she wanted. Maybe, thought John, it would be better if she married Brad.

"You'll be a great mother, Mon" said John.

Monica managed a half-smiled in response and neither said anything for some time until John's cell phone rang. Pulling it out of his coat, he answered in one breath, "Doggett."

Monica watched as John spoke in a serious of clipped answers and his jaw seemed to tighten with every single one. John hung up and then took the nearest exit heading toward Georgetown.

"John?" asked Monica. "Why Georgetown?"

"There was a murder at an apartment building there," said John. "Assistant Director Skinner wants us to go there since the victim seems to fit the same profile as the vics in your cases."

"What's the other reason?" asked Monica.

John looked over at Monica with a grin. She always knew when he was holding something back. That's what made him fall in love with her. "The murder is in the same building where Dana Scully lives."

Monica raised an eyebrow. "Did she know the victim?"

"Yeah," said John. "they were friends."

"Poor woman" said Monica sympathetically, "first losing Mulder, now this." She sighed. "She has to be hurting."

"You don't know Dana Scully," said John. "She's a tough one."

"I'm sure that she is," said Monica, "but she is still a human being, John." "We can't forget that."


	6. Chapter 6

_10:00 a.m._

_Georgetown _

_Mr. Miike's Apartment_

Dana Scully was sitting numbly on Mr. Miike's couch while a team of agents was working around her collecting evidence. Dana knew that she should be working with the team, looking for physical evidence, examining the body and even developing a profile of the killer, but after finding Mr. Miike's body this morning, she could not bring herself to act as an agent.

Thankfully, Assistant Director Skinner had taken over after Dana had called him and explained the crime scene. Skinner told Scully that Doggett and another agent named Reyes were coming over to help her with the crime scene. Scully lost time after that conversation. Everything seemed to be happening in slow-motion. The sound of the camera taking photographs, the soft swoosh of the evidence brush against the walls, and the crackle of the plastic as the body was being wrapped as evidence of the crime that had been committed.

The body? Somewhere through the fog of Scully's brain, it hit her that in that plastic bag was Mr. Miike's body and that in several hours, a forensic pathologist, like herself, would be cutting him open, examining his internal organs, and determining an official cause of death. What did it matter, thought Scully, how someone dies? Dead is dead. Scully lifted her hand to her mouth and found herself shaking. She bit her lip hard, and decided to get out of Mr. Miike's apartment and go back to her own. Skinner could fill her in on the details of the autopsy later.

As she stood up, the action in the room came to a halt, and Scully did not look, but she could feel all eyes on her passing judgment. As she walked out of the room, Scully cringed at the quiet conversations she imagined were happening as she exited: Scully has never been the same since she hooked up with Spooky Mulder; Scully and Mulder were totally hooking up. Why else would they spend so much time in the basement, and on and on it probably went. Scully had long ignored the barbs and quips that had been slung her and Mulder's way, but tonight she would have given anything for someone to talk to, someone like Mr. Miike. Inexplicably, tears filled Scully's eyes, and she stumbled into the hallway into someone's strong arms.

"Are you alright maam?" asked a female voice with a slight hint of a Mexican accent. Scully looked up and into her warm brown eyes, behind her, stood Agent Doggett with more than a hint of sadness in his bright blue eyes, the look, thought Scully, was outright depression. For a moment, Scully forgot her depression and concentrated on her partner's. Despite the terrible beginning to their relationship, Scully came to trust Doggett completely, something that Mulder, before he had to disappear again, never quite understood, or got over. She knew John, and her partner was in pain. As Reyes guided Scully to her apartment, Scully realized that Reyes was the cause of Doggett's grief and that the flash of the diamond ring indicated that Reyes had chosen someone else. Scully was sorry for that. It seemed that everyone who pursued the truth, whatever that meant to them, always seemed to do so at a heavy price.

Scully allowed Reyes to steer her into the apartment and sit her on the couch. While Doggett sat on the couch across from Scully, the two did not speak with Doggett concentrating his attention on Reyes, who was going through Scully's kitchen. Scully turned and looked at Reyes, who stopped and smiled.

"I thought you could use a cup of tea" she said, holding up a box, "Twinning's Lavender is one of my favorites."

Scully, despite the situation, felt herself smiling. She had learned to trust no one, especially after her sister was murdered, and her daughter was taken away. Yet, Scully knew that this persistent paranoia had led her to push away those who were trying to help her, even members of her family. Scully felt, acutely, the loss of her relationship with her two brothers, particularly Bill, to whom she had been the closest. Yet, pushing them away guaranteed their safety, thought Scully, and perhaps, one day, when things were different, they could be siblings again.

"Twinning's Lavender would be great" said Scully.

While Monica was humming around the kitchen, Scully looked at her partner again. His normal tough Marine stance was cracking at the seams. Scully wished she could reach out to him, but realized that the woman he really wanted was the woman making them lavender tea in Scully's kitchen. A knock at the door was welcome relief to the silence that had been imposed by the grief filling the room.

Immediately, John stood up, and opened the door to Assistant Director Skinner. Skinner walked in, nodded at Reyes and Doggett, and turned his attention to Scully. He walked over and sat on the couch next to her. She looked up at him and found herself reassured by his presence. Despite their disagreements, Skinner had always proven to not only be an ally, but also a friend. Scully could not imagine working at the FBI for anyone else, and often thought that she would quit the FBI in the event that Skinner left, was fired or retired.

"How are you?" asked Skinner.

"Still in shock," said Scully honestly, "I saw him tonight." "He was fine."

"Did he ever mention to you any enemies?" asked Skinner, "Anyone who might have wanted to hurt him in any way?"

"No," said Scully, "he was a man that everyone liked."

"What about girlfriends," asked Reyes, bringing Scully her tea, "did he have any girlfriends?"

"No . . . I don't know," said Scully, "He was a widower." "He would never discuss something like that with me."

"According to his records," said Skinner, "he has a daughter; she lives here in DC."

"I met her once," said Scully softly, "she just had a baby." She looked up at everyone. "I should be the one to tell her about her father."

"In your condition," began Skinner, but Scully cut him off with a look.

"What condition?" asked John, coming out of his fog.

"Scully is pregnant" said Reyes.

Everyone turned to look at Reyes. "How did you know?"

Monica smiled. "I nursed my sister through two pregnancies; I know the signs."

Doggett looked hurt. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted to wait until I was sure that I wouldn't lose the baby" said Scully.

"Scully, working on this case could cause you too much stress" said Skinner.

"This man was a friend," said Scully, "I need to know what happened to him."

Skinner nodded, realizing that fighting with Scully would get him nowhere.

"Sir, with your permission, I would like to do the autopsy" said Scully.

Skinner nodded. "I will make the arrangements."

"Dana, I would like to be there when you do the autopsy," said Reyes, "I think your friend's murder may be connected to a series of cases I am working on."

"A series of cases?" asked Scully.

"Yes," said Reyes, "over the last three years, three Japanese men have been murdered in a very grizzly manner, including taking parts of the body."

Scully paused to push back the nausea, and looked at Reyes, "Mr. Miike was missing his eyes."

Reyes nodded. "I brought the case files for the last three murders; we can make a comparison."

Skinner looked at Doggett. "We'll finish up the scene, while Scully and Reyes go to see Mr. Miike's daughter." He looked at Scully. "I'll have the body shipped to Quantico."

Scully nodded, and she and Reyes left the building, while Skinner and Doggett, went back to Mr. Miike's apartment to clean up the mess.


End file.
